far too much writing, far too many photos

runswithscissors


Monday, October 22, 2001

Went to see a show last Thursday night with a couple of folks from class. On arriving home around 11:15, I found a guy at work across the street putting up row after row of posters of the same nekkid male dancers that appeared briefly on that same wall a week or two back. Same place, same formation -- three rows high, 10 or so posters long. If you're standing some distance away, it looks like a block of postage stamps, until you remember that no government currently in existence is going to be issuing a commemorative for the Tomas Dancers any time soon.

When I left home the next midday, they were gone, covered up by a whole new crop of posters, including a huge one for Attika, which turns out to be an Italian telecommunications outfit, not a band. Since then, posters have come and gone at a furious pace. As if a particularly ferocious form of Darwinism is at work in the neighborhood.

A short time ago, around 6 p.m., the sound of a compressor started up down in the street. A strident, annoying compressor. After ten minutes, I leaned out a window to scope the situation. The City of Madrid had sent a crew out once again to strip the wall clean. Most posters had already come down, the crew worked on the remnants with a high-pressure water sprayer, a process that left the street thoroughly confetti'd, giving it a festive, if sodden, look.

I moved in here on Sept. 9th. In the six or so weeks since then, the City has taken down the posters roughly every two weeks, without doing anything to ensure that the wall will stay clean and poster-free. I've wondered about this, and it occurs to me that maybe there's not much to ponder. Maybe this is simply part of the cycle of life here, not a futile expenditure of energy. Maybe this kind of work gives the city cleaning crews a break from sweeping up after all-night parties in this and other barrios every weekend. Who knows?

Madrid -- city of mystery.

rws 1:17 PM [+]

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BLATHERINGS

August 2001
September 2001
October 2001
November 2001
December 2001
January 2002
February 2002
March 2002
April 2002
May 2002
June 2002
July 2002
August 2002
September 2002
October 2002
November 2002
December 2002
January 2003
February 2003
March 2003
April 2003
May 2003
June 2003
July 2003
August 2003
September 2003
October 2003
November 2003
December 2003
January 2004
February 2004
March 2004
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June 2004
July 2004
August 2004
September 2004
October 2004
November 2004
December 2004
January 2005
February 2005
March 2005
April 2005
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August 2005
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January 2006
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April 2006
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June 2006
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August 2006
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November 2006
December 2006
January 2007
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June 2007
July 2007
August 2007
September 2007
October 2007
November 2007
December 2007
January 2008
February 2008
March 2008
April 2008
May 2008
June 2008
July 2008
August 2008
September 2008
October 2008
November 2008
December 2008
January 2009
February 2009
March 2009
April 2009
June 2009
July 2009

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MORE FOCUSED BLATHERINGS


Travels:
London '01
Pamplona
Italy '03
U.K. '03
Sevilla
Casablanca
Stoke-on-Trent
Barcelona
Québec/Ottawa
Boston/Lisbon/Madrid
Italy '04
Montréal
La Sierra

Events:
Madrid -- arrival
9/11
Emergency Room I
Holidays 2001
Holidays 2002
Holidays 2003
Holidays 2004
Holidays 2005
A neighbor's passing
Madrid -- March 11 bombings
  and aftermath
Emergency Room II
Israeli friend/Madrid Marathon
Madrid -- Royal Wedding
The DELE exam

GONE, a novel:
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10

THE BASTARD CHILDREN OF
JOE ROCCO, a novella:
-- Part 1
-- Part 2
-- Part 3

BURBANK SHRUGGED,
a screenplay:
-- Part 1
-- Part 2
-- Part 3
-- Part 4

Short stories:
Murphy's Wife
Another Autumn
La Queja de Una
  Hermanastra Muy Conocida

Autobiography
-- Personal History
-- Hormones On Parade
-- Accidents, Random Mishaps,
    Personal Problems

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OTHER SOURCES OF WHOLESOME ENTERTAINMENT

People/Weblogs:
dooce
foxvox
fudge it
fear not
rebekka
bookslut
802online
idle words
madhaiku
wockerjabby
grow-a-brain
rebel market
letting me be
out and about
kung fu grippe
fanatical apathy
baghdad burning
wfuv's music blog
kexp's music blog
mimi smartypants
between the miles
just a hippie gypsy
the impossible cool
tomato can brushes
vermont homestead
sugar mountain farm

Good Clean Fun:
gizmodo
futurismic
postsecret
dave barry
human clock
mcsweeney's
spaceweather
book-a-minute
internet archive
self-portrait day
my cat hates you
out of context quotes
surrealist compliment
  generator
strindberg and helium

Makin' Musical Whoopee:
last fm
stereo8
pandora
soma fm

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ABOUT RWS/CONTACT





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